Top Online Colleges

The OEDb has released their annual rankings of online colleges for 2009. In their findings, they have ranked the top 44 online colleges.

The methodology of the rankings are based upon eight criteria: acceptance rate, financial aid, graduation rate, peer Web citations, retention rate, scholarly citations, student-faculty ratio, and years accredited.

While rankings alone should not be the sole criteria for attending a college, rankings in general can be used as a guide to see the strengths and weaknesses of a college you are considering.

The Top 10

1. Nova Southeastern University
2. Regent University
3. Champlain College
4. Upper Iowa University
5. LeTourneau University
6. Liberty University
7. Grand Canyon University
8. Dickinson State University
9. Salem International University
10. Keiser University

Summary

After analyzing the data for each metric in the rankings, here is what can be summarized of the top online colleges.

Best Online Colleges for Financial Aid
The schools provide financial aid to all students:
Everglades University
Fisher College
Keiser University
Salem International University
Westwood College

Hardest to get into
ITT Technical Institute - Acceptance rate 35.30%

Easiest to get into
These colleges have a 100% acceptance rate:
American InterContinental University
Capella University
Kaplan University

Highest Graduation Rate
Champlain College - 84.00%

Highest Retention Rate
These colleges have 100% retention:
Florida National College
National University

Lowest Student/Faculty Ratio
Granite State College (10 to 1)
Regent University (10 to 1)
Western International University (10 to 1)